FIAT 805 405

FIAT 805 405

FIAT's technical advances should've landed them a clear victory at the 1923 French Grand Prix but stones and dust thrown up from the course gradually knocked out each of the team's three entrants, their unscreened Wittig superchargers (used for the first time in a major grand prix) turning from advantage to Achilles heel as dust and grit found its way inside them.

After building a lead of over four minutes by the end of lap thirty Salamano's no.14 car appeared to run out of fuel just two laps from the finish - it might still have completed the race, after an epic run to the pits by the mechanic for more fuel (and a lost argument that he should be allowed to use a bicycle for the return trip) but the supercharger gremlins had a struck again, the car wouldn't restart - the race was won by Henry Segrave in the Sunbeam.

Later in the year, in the European Grand Prix at Monza, an even more powerful car (145bhp) with a Roots supercharger (and possibly helped by a solid, grit-free, tarmac track) gave FIAT the victory that their inventiveness and innovation deserved.

Engine: Inline 8 cylinders
60mm X 87.5mm (B/S)
1979 cc
Wittig 'B' type supercharger/Roots 'D' type supercharger
Weight: 680kg

Front tyres: Pirelli 29" X 4" (737x102mm)
Rear tyres: Pirelli 29" X 4.5" (737x114mm)

Semi-elliptic leaf-springs front and rear with double Hartford dampers. Angled rear springs placed within bodywork.